This anthology discusses important issues surrounding environmental law and economics and provides an in-depth analysis of its use in legislation, regulation and legal adjudication from a neoclassical and behavioural law and economics perspective. Environmental issues raise a vast range of legal questions: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially as it relates to present exploitation of scarce resources? Or is it necessary for the state to intervene? Regulatory instruments are available to create and maintain a more sustainable society: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, etc. If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur sustainable consumption and production in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impact on economic development? Since the related problems are often caused by scarcity of resources, economic analysis of law can offer remarkable insights for their resolution. Part I underlines the foundations of environmental law and economics. Part II analyses the effectiveness of economic instruments and regulations in environmental law. Part III is dedicated to the problems of climate change. Finally, Part IV focuses on tort and criminal law. The twenty-one chapters in this volume deliver insights into the multifaceted debate surrounding the use of economic instruments in environmental regulation in Europe.

In 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the nations of the world agreed to implement an ambitious plan for ecologically sustainable human development. This book is a comprehensive review of U.S. efforts to achieve such development since Rio. The U.S. has unquestionably begun to take steps toward sustainable development. Yet the nation is now far from being a sustainable society, and in many respects is farther away than it was in 1992. Nevertheless, legal and policy tools are available to put the U.S. on a direct path to sustainability. This book brings together 42 distinguished experts from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines. It is among the most thorough assessments ever conducted of U.S. law and policy concerning the environment.

This book presents inspiring ideas about how law can support the fundamental transition processes to a sustainable future and how it can provide guidance on the pathways to sustainability.

The European Union action plan "Towards sustainability", grew in parallel with the initiative of the United Nations which culminated in the Rio declaration and the Agenda 21. With time, though, it has been realised that the goals are more difficult to achieve than anticipated. The social problems that must be solved by sustainable development cannot afford to wait for the usual slow pace of science. For that reason, politicians, legislators and the judiciary are in the front line because they are the first to assess the facts and they are the necessary administrators of the problems faced. The report establishes some basic principles of sustainable development as: the principle of public environmental order; the principle of sustainability; the principle of carrying capacity; the principle of the obligatory restoration of disturbed ecosystems; the principle of biodiversity; principle of common natural heritage; the principle of the mild development of fragile ecosystems; the principle of spatial planning; the principle of cultural heritage; the principle of the sustainable urban environment; the principle of the aesthetic value of nature; and principle of environmental awareness

This book investigates how sustainability informs the universal principles used in domestic and international law. It calls for the acceptance of sustainability as a recognized legal principle which could be applied to the entire legal system rather than just environmental law and regardless of its international or domestic levels. To this end, the book makes a contribution to a theory of global law by discussing whether, as a universally shared concern, environmental protection and the principle of sustainability should contribute to the 'greening' of the fundamental principles of law and governance. The book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers and policy makers working in the areas of environmental law and governance.